The German steelmaker reports FY 2014 net income of €195M (~$244M) vs. a €1.6B loss in the previous year; sales totaled €41.3B, up 7% Y/Y, while EBIT more than doubled to €1.3B.

Q4 results include a €33M net loss vs. a €909M loss in the year-ago quarter, due to legal costs and restructuring in the elevator technology and material services businesses, while Q4 sales rose to €11.16B, up 10% Y/Y.

Some analysts question whether the company is ready to resume dividend payments, as CEO Heinrich Hiesinger said "We still don't have a good balance sheet."

The U.S. will not go ahead with planned import duties on specialized steel from Japan, Germany and Poland after the U.S. International Trade Commission found the imports were not harming local industry.

The U.S.-based public affairs lobby of the Japanese steel industry welcomes the decision, which came after a complaint lodged by AK Steel (AKS-2.9%) and others.

The decision affects companies including Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal (OTC:NISTF) and Germany's ThyssenKrupp (OTC:TYEKY, OTCPK:TYEKF), which had been named in the dispute.

ThyssenKrupp (OTC:TYEKY, OTCPK:TYEKF) shares are up 1% in Germany following the steelmaker's Q2 update, which said it earned €39M vs. a €395M loss in the year-earlier period, and sales rose 8% to €10.7B.

Q2 profit from European steel making, which is highly cyclical, rose more than sixfold to €92M, or ~$123M before interest and taxes.

The main drivers of the improved performance were efficiency gains, profitable growth of the capital goods businesses, and significant improvement at Steel Americas.

Slightly raises its full-year forecast, now seeing FY 2014 adjusted EBIT doubling from last year's €586M and expecting to achieve break-even to slightly positive net income for the first time in three years.

Neither company discloses the potential value of the deal, saying negotiations are at an early stage; ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, formerly known Kockums, had a total revenue of 1.68B Swedish kroner ($256M) in 2013.

Saab, unaffiliated with the car company with the same name, is best known for building fighter jets and other defense systems.

Heisinger can't find any buyers, which he says highlights the biggest problem with the steel industry: It needs to consolidate, but there is little movement in that direction since "the pain is still not big enough."

Meanwhile, activist investment firm Cevian Capital increases its stake in the company to more than 15%, worth ~€1.6B ($2.2B), from 11% last year.

ThyssenKrupp (TYEKY, TYEKF) produces some evidence that its turnaround plan is working, as its FQ1 EBITDA more than doubled Y/Y to €247M (~$336M) and beat expectations of €209M, attributed to robust orders at the company’s capital goods businesses, including elevators and industrial plants.

ThyssenKrupp significantly reduced losses at its Steel Americas unit, which it decided to partially sell in December, while benefiting from a weaker Brazilian real and lower fuel rates.

Analysts remain cautious: "Despite an impressive first quarter the stock has run hard and the Steel Europe rump is now looking stretched,” Citigroup says, but at least the company's existence no longer looks threatened.

ThyssenKrupp (TYEKY, TYEKF) CEO Heinrich Hiesinger renews his pledge to transform the steel and engineering company into an industrial goods and services group but warns shareholders that the revamp will take time and bring more hardship.

Investors and analysts largely support Hiesinger's shift from steel but are critical of his execution; stumbles with the partial exit of the troubled Steel Americas unit and the sale of its stainless steel business to Outokumpu contributed to an accumulated net loss of €7.4B over the past three fiscal years.

The balance of power shifts at ThyssenKrupp (TYEKY, TYEKF), as the Krupp foundation, which has controlled the company since the 1960s, sat out a capital increase today due to a lack of cash, diluting its stake and losing its veto right.

Cevian Capital Partners, an activist shareholder already with a 6%-plus stake and which has invested in several other European companies, purchased a "significant" part of the shares on offer but less than half of the entire placement volume, WSJ reports.

Germany's largest steelmaker has been undergoing a deep restructuring as it grapples with weak demand and overcapacity in the European steel industry.

ThyssenKrupp (TYEKY, TYEKF) confirms an agreement to sell its troubled Alabama steel plant to a joint venture formed by ArcelorMittal (MT) and Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal for $1.55B. (earlier)

The German steelmaker says it would increase its capital by as much as 10% in the deal, excluding subscription rights, which would raise close to €1B ($1.36B) at its current share price.

Thyssen still is stuck with its 73% stake in Brazil's CSA, which it also had wanted to sell, but the deal includes a six-year agreement for the U.S. plant to buy 2M tons/year of steel slab from CSA, or 40% of the Brazilian mill's capacity; the arrangement should mean a drop in raw steel imports into the U.S. and less downward pressure on prices.

"There'll be a psychological impact, and that will probably stop price erosion, and then you'll see a long-term impact six and nine months from now," the publisher of Steel Market Update tells WSJ.

ThyssenKrupp (TYEKY, TYEKF) agrees to compensate buyers of its Alabama steel plant for any underperformance in the next few years to seal a long-awaited deal to be outlined later today, Reuters reports.

The buyers, a consortium of ArcelorMittal (MT) and Nippon Steel, reportedly will pay ~$1.5B for the steel finishing plant.

Analysts say it isn't surprising that ThyssenKrupp offered concessions to clinch the sale but they would have to see the details to judge if it was a good deal; in any case, it paves the way for a much-needed capital increase at Thyssen, with several bankers saying they expected such a move as early as Monday evening.